A year on - a Londoners perspective Pt1

This post is by no means meant to start any discussion of the events of July last year. I post this in tribute to the victims, families and those caught up in the events of that day.

The day had started nicely enough – we in London were still elated about the 2012 bid and indeed some of us had stayed up late celebrating. Thinbgs were about to change.

My first recall was at 0910 when my mobile let me know I had a message – a friend was trying to figure out what had gone on.

The passage of events seems to have been as follows:

0850 – Three devices detonate on the Circle, Piccadilly and again on the Circle Line.

I switch on the TV – as I start to hear the sirens and warbles of police and fire services screaming towards the city centre.

As I watch news floods in of a fourth device in Tavistock Square.

Just like 9/11 for me I immediately start to count the locations of friends and their transit routes to work.

1000 my mobile cuts out – it’s impossible to get a signal – but one call makes it in – a friend is stranded – but needs to get to Heathrow. A couple of landline calls are made and we arrange to get her there by car.

The radio is on and the TV – then I dive in the car. We make it to an RV point - and see troops on the street patrolling what is a normal suburb of London.

The drive to the airport is surreal police cars and ambulances everywhere – and at the airport armoured cars are visible in the police compound.

We make it to her flight – but I’m not envious of flying that day especially long haul. The airport is going into lockdown as I leave.

52 people lost their lives that day and above 700 injured. Having lived in the shadow of the terrorists in Northern Ireland I can honestly say that no one day – in the terms of this country has ever burned itself so indelibly into my memory.

So this is a tribute pure and simple to those people who died, those they left behind and most of all to the police, ambulance, fire and medical resources who – despite knowing the attacks may have continued worked tirelessly and selflessly to help so many people to safety and the medical attention they required. We endured this, a Blitz and 30 years of IRA violence – and I can say London remains unbowed 12 months on.

Sounds like it was a very hard time. Sound like you were in the heart of it.

What a day and on this memorial my thoughts are with the family's of the victims,

I remember the day well, I heard about a fire in the station and i felt the concern as my father works on the railway, Not long after i heard there was another fire and talks of an explosion, i thought then "bomb" my emotions went from fear to dread to the shock realization that my family may be caught in it,

as more news of more bombs came in i was trying to call every member in my family but the phones had all gone down

I wont ever forget the emotions i felt that day, or the feel of the day, Watching the helicopter fly over, hearing ambulances and police everywhere, also the silence in the air,

even going to the shops later that evening was surreal, I felt that if i talked i might just burst in to tears, i think a lot of people felt the same,

I was quite shocked when I woke up at about 1 P.M. and my mom told be "they bombed London". It was 9 at night in London, so the main chaos had already passed. I was immediately worried about my husband, who was my fiancee at the time, because even though he lived far enough away from London, he did make frequent trips up that way to take care of business or see his friends. When he called, I was relieved to hear that he had not gone to London and wasn't planning on it for another week.

But I was worried that the death toll would be much higher, since it was on public transit during morning rush hour and there was that train that was really deep that it took them a couple days to get to.

It was still quite horrid that this even happened. When I saw what was done to that bus it made my stomach turn.

this was one of the scarriest days of my life as i was due in london that morning but for various reasons i didnt actually go. it wasnt till i got 4 or 5 calls in quick succsession askin if i was ok and where i was and what did i see that i realised somthing was going on n switched on the tv.

was watchin a documentry last night 6/7 about the week leading up to it, with live 8 and the olympic descision. an interesting thing was mentioned

that none of the victims in the hospitals that were interviewd a year on were visited by any poloticions or recived any cards or anything.